All businesses should have a standard of ensuring a background check on potential employees before hiring. A background check will generally consist of verifying previous employment, checking references, verifying education and in some cases a criminal background check. This due diligence helps insulate a company from liability in case an employee acts in a manner that adversely affects the company or its image. It also helps screen possible risks before hiring so the company is assured that the employee is the best possible one for the position. Some companies will use all the possible checks available but most will only use a few of them. When considering if a criminal background check is necessary, the answer depends solely on how much risk the company is willing to take and how much liability they have at stake. A criminal background check should be required for all positions where there is a risk of theft, if there is a high probability of working with the general public or if it is a high profile position.

Some companies will opt to do a criminal background check merely to get a sense of the reliability of the potential employee even if the risk to the company is minimal. Positions where money is being handled will often require this to ensure there is no past history of theft. Delivery drivers, cashiers, bank personnel and account professionals are often required to undergo a criminal background check. This not only mitigates the risk to the employer but also protects the customers. If a company has funds stolen from them from an employee, they may have to raise rates which will affect the consumer. Also, if a company gets a reputation for not being trustworthy because an employee steals from a patron, this will greatly damage the business. The higher the security level needed for a position, the more important it is to conduct a criminal background check.

Many positions where employees will be continually working with the general public, especially in the case of working with children, will require a criminal background check before employment commences. Teachers, social workers, counselors and therapists will often need to submit to a criminal background check to ensure they have no past criminal activity which would open the organization up to scrutiny. It will also tell the employer if a candidate is a risk and if they are suited to work with certain people. Any act of violence or drug use will generally eliminate a candidate from consideration.

High profile positions use a criminal background check to ensure there is no adverse public reaction to an employee. Any position where the employee is a spokesperson for the company in any manner is open to scrutiny from third parties. It is in the company’s best interest to make sure the employee has the best possible reputation and is an outstanding citizen. They want the employee to be an asset to the company and not generate possible bad publicity because of misdeeds that occurred in their past which will now reflect on the corporation.

The human resources department of companies will generally be the ones to initiate a criminal background check. Most of the information available is public record, so it is fairly easy to obtain. There are websites available where you can subscribe in order to get the criminal record of an employee quickly and easily. This can easily be accomplished in-house at very little expense.

Some larger corporations, though, employ the use of outside agencies to do a complete check including a criminal background check on a possible employee before hire. For a fee the investigating company will accumulate a personnel file on all relevant information so the hiring manager may review it to determine if the candidate is a good fit in the company and for the position.

A criminal background check is not necessary in all cases but it can be highly beneficial to screen employees before hire. There is always a risk when hiring someone new but partaking in some due diligence before hire will help lessen the risk attached to the company. Simply because an employee has a criminal past does not necessarily preclude the person from finding gainful employment. However, there are some positions where any criminal activity is simply too great a risk to the company.